There is no one size fits all formula for studying for finals. There are definitely a few tricks that are universal in helping you maximize the time and effort you put in.
First things first, make sure that you study in an environment where you will not be easily distracted. Places like your bedroom, your friend’s house or in the living room with the television on are all riddled with distractions that will quickly get you off track. Pick somewhere that you know you will focus, whether it is the library, a coffee shop, or a quiet room in your house.
To make the most out of the time you put in studying, make sure that you have a study plan. This should include which topics you are having the most trouble with, any material from earlier in the semester that will be on the test, and definitely any questions that the teacher specifically mentioned will be on the final.
Pay attention in class leading up to the final. Your teacher will usually drop hints and be very specific about what will be on your upcoming test. Many teachers like to take questions directly out of notes that they have gone over in class.
Do not save all of your studying for the night before the final. Numerous studies have shown that cramming does not do you any good, and pulling an all-nighter will negatively impact your ability to remember info as well as your performance on the test.
Do not forget to take care of yourself during all the stress of finals. A well-rested and happy student is a productive student!
Fall is such an exciting and busy time of the year. There are so many holidays coming up, which means lots of family functions, time with friends, and less time to balance your busy workload. Luckily, there are plenty of small steps you can take to ensure you keep your grades up while still being able to enjoy all of the holiday festivities.
Plan out your week in advance.
– If some of your teachers tell you the homework in advance, you can always try and get it done early if you know that you have other plans you would rather do later on in the week. If you haven’t learned the topic yet and still want to get it done, come in and see a tutor and they will have no problem getting you ahead of the class.
Don’t let yourself fall behind.
– Staying ahead is much easier than trying to play catch up. If you have a day where you aren’t doing anything, try and get some extra homework or studying done. It may not sound like the most fun option available, but it will give you more free time for when you actually have things you want to do.
Get good grades now so your final won’t make or break your grade.
– Maintaining your grades in your classes will help prevent you from having a major meltdown when finals roll around pretty soon. Schedule tutoring appointments in advance so you can have a firm grasp on the concepts for tests instead of trying to memorize everything the night before.
Study Hut may specialize in helping students conquer their most difficult classes and acing all their tests, but it’s just as rewarding every time they get an awesome grade. We tailor each session to our individual students and the different needs they have, whether it’s a big math test tomorrow or a last minute essay they forgot to do for English.
One of our students, Abrianna had been struggling in a few of her classes. She started coming in to Study Hut twice a week and working with our tutor, Brittany. They started with the basics, like making sure that all of her homework was done every night, but moved on to more complex things like study skills. Brittany taught Abrianna how to study more effectively and different tricks to help her remember the information better. All of their hard work paid off! Abrianna got an A on her most recent science test, which raised her grade in that class up to a B. She is working hard to improve all of her other grades as well.
Another Study Hut regular, Olivia, completed her lead capstone project at Palos Verdes High School this week! She was one of only twenty students picked out of two hundred chosen to present their projects. She researched and analyzed how the film Blackfish has affected the treatment of whales. Olivia worked diligently on her project for weeks, and came in regularly to Study Hut to double check for any errors she had made with her English tutor, Laura. Olivia came out on top of her class!
It’s no question that education is a two way street. Teachers, parents and tutors are united in their efforts to bestow kernels of wisdom on the younger generation. Likewise, students soak up information like a sponge. But when one is out of sync with the other, it’s a situation where full learning can be lost in the wind. However, being a tutor of many years now, I can honestly say there are a few key qualities I’ve seen in students that make the flow of learning right as rain. Not to let educators off the hook (two way street, right?), but students can certainly learn from the following ideas on how to be a student tutors will love.
ORGANIZATION
It seems like a cliche, but Office Depot and The Container Store are the keys to 50% of learning. As human beings, we naturally codify, order and pattern information into compartments in our brain for easy retrieval. That’s why highlighters and binders and all the other trinkets sold at these stores will help students learn and retain information. Tutors love it when their students show up organized and ready to learn and review. When students are organized, they’ve done half the work!
PARTICIPATION
As mentioned above, learning is a two way street, which means interaction, asking questions and providing feedback are key to a good study session. Studies show that repeating ideas out loud will help students understand and retain new information better than simply listening. That’s why questions are great! Activities such as games and exercises will also maintain participation.
GOOD ATTITUDE
Who doesn’t want to be in good company? This goes for both the teacher and student. A good attitude can go a long way in building trust, keeping focus, and developing a strong report. Furthermore, having a good attitude might even surprise the most unsuspecting student because a positive mood opens our minds to learning something new. What tutor doesn’t love for their student to learn something new?
Imagine if each year you allowed three consecutive months to pass without ever considering diet or exercise; the result would be low energy, an underperforming immune system, and many other undesirable consequences. Just like any other part of the human body, the brain requires regular attention and maintenance to perform to its potential. Students often struggle to get back into the swing of academics after a long summer break, as their brains have been stagnant for weeks on end. Here at Study Hut Tutoring, we make sure to keep our students sharp through the summer time, allowing an easier entrance into the new school year and helping them to start strong and maintain that impressive GPA throughout the course of the academic year.
Summer tutoring offers many benefits to students. For some, summer tutoring serves as a valuable time to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the previous school year, and to clear up and solidify conceptual understanding that they will need to progress to more advanced courses. For others, summer tutoring serves as an opportunity to learn new material before being exposed to it in the classroom, giving them more confidence and an easier route to an “A”. And still for others, we help with writing enrichment, summer reading requirements, and preparation for the Fall SAT and ACT.
Of course, we at Study Hut Tutoring also appreciate the value of leisure time. Our founders, Rob and Sean, along with our tutors have been making the most of this summer by spending plenty of time on and in the ocean, be it to surf, spearfish, or boat across the channel to Catalina Island. We will be seeing off our managerial staff on an annual leadership trip at the end of July, and look forward to building an even stronger team to help our students through the remainder of the summer and next school year.
If you would like more information regarding our summer tutoring services, or you would like to sign up your son or daughter for summer help to prepare for the upcoming school year, please feel welcome to contact us at info@studyhut.com. Enjoy your summer!
With summer underway and the Independence Day holiday weekend behind us, our enrichment programs at Study Hut are in full force, and learning is back on the agenda.
Tonight we begin our ACT small-group course, which runs Monday and Wednesday evenings for the remainder of summer. Our SAT small-group course also begins tomorrow evening, and runs through the rest of summer on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Students are excited to learn concepts that they either missed in high school or have not yet learned, and they are even more eager to go over their practice tests and learn time management and question prioritization strategies for both the ACT and SAT. Students in previous classes at Study Hut Tutoring have learned all about the tremendous benefits of having an ACT tutor or an SAT tutor in their corner.
Whether a student needs help with SAT math, critical reading, writing, or some combination of these, having a top Study Hut tutor has shown to make a huge difference in students’ scores. Our small group ACT and SAT classes have helped to earn students an average of over 200 points of improvement from their original scores, and many students improve 300 or more points.
At the Hut, we strongly suggest making a game-plan early so as to ensure that your son or daughter has the maximum amount of time to make the gains that he or she desires. The test preparation process is, after all, about opening as many doors as possible, both for college and for opportunities beyond.
If your son or daughter has not yet taken a practice SAT or ACT, now is the time to see where you stand. We offer free full-length SAT and ACT diagnostic tests, and we also provide free consultations to parents and students after the test so that you can fully understand your results. Please email info@studyhut.com today to sign up at any of our beach-front locations.
Here is a comprehensive list of programs to help your student stay ahead this fall.
– SAT and ACT classes both one-on-one and group courses. Our group course for SAT’s and ACT’s start after the July 4th weekend.
– Spanish 1/2 and Spanish 3/4 Workshops
– Elementary to Middle School and Middle School to High School Transition Sessions
– Algebra 1, Geometry, and Alg 2 Prep Classes which will start at the end of July. Joey will be teaching some of the courses in the Manhattan Beach Location.
– General Summer School Help
We are open Monday-Friday and you can contact our managers to book appointments for summer. Manhattan Beach Location: Kristen@studyhut.com – (310)546-2408, Redondo Beach Location: Justin@studyhut.com – (310)540-5888, and our El Segundo Location: Alex@studyhut.com (310)648-8526
1. Start Early! – This is the most important one. The internet provides plenty of ways to waste your study time, but you’ll be happy you stayed away from Netflix and Reddit when the final finally comes.
2. Study in Chunks – Your brain works best in 50 minute intervals. You may feel studious after your 6 hour study marathon, but a tired brain doesn’t absorb information like a fresh one. Take 5-10 minutes breaks every hour to make sure you’re making the most of your study time.
3. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place – Studying in bed may sound like a good idea, but once you’re in bed, so will a nap. Find a place that works for you. It should be somewhere where you can focus, spread out your notes, and get in a studying groove. And if you get sick of one place, switch it up!
4. Know Your Teacher – Ask questions, take notes, review old worksheets. Figure out what your teacher thinks is important because that’s what will show up on the final.
5. Study Alone – Start with what you don’t know. Review your old tests, quizzes, and homeworks, and take notes on what you missed. Then spend some time on your own with each of these topics. Write down any questions you have because the next step is…
6. Study in Groups – Once you’ve figured out your own strengths and weaknesses in each subject, form a study group. Here you can ask questions you had on your own and answer some of your study buddies’. Explaining concepts and hearing them explained in new ways will strengthen your understanding of the material.
7. Exercise – Exercise increases blood flow to the brain, and you may need all the brain blood you can get for finals week. It’s also a great way to take a break from book to soak up some sun.
8. Sleep – It may be tempting to cram all night, but
it may not help as much as you think. Give your brain a rest! When the night before the test comes around, be confident in the studying you’ve been doing all week and get some extra sleep.
Do you have any friends who seem to breeze through their finals? While your friends are chilling out, are you stressing out?
How do they do it!?!
They know something you don’t know.
Don’t tell anybody, but I am about to let you in on a big secret. This secret will quite literally change your life- it can make you healthier, less stressed out, and happier.
Here’s the secret to properly preparing for finals: stop cramming.
That’s right, to ace your finals and to be less stressed out about them you need to stop cramming. Cramming up to the last minute pulling marathon all nighters is an inefficient and unhealthy way to study.
Instead of cramming, you need to spread out the work. Starting now, you should take a bit of time (not too little but also not too much) to begin reviewing old notes, problem sets, and exams. The key is for this to be a regimented and manageable review process. If you stick with it and do a little bit each day you will not have to do a lot the weekend before your exams.
The bottom line is that you are going pay now or pay later in terms of preparation.
You can coast now and “pay later” with caffeine-fueled evenings reviewing a semester’s worth of materials in a few days. This is the “drinking from a fire hose” approach. Not fun.
Or you can “pay now” by doing a little bit of preparation each night and spreading out the workload into something more manageable. Being well rested and healthy indisputably helps you perform better exams, this approach of spreading out the work means you will be able to cover more material in a smart way.
An additional benefit of being ahead of the curve when it comes to preparation is if you come across any questions you can ask friends or instructor for extra help and advice.
As Mark Twain (or maybe Agatha Christie) once said, “the secret to getting ahead is getting started.” There is no time to wait, start this process now without the unhealthy late-night heroics, and your mind, body, and report card will thank you.
These past few weeks excitement waas in the air as Scholar Quiz took place! Both the Mira Costa High School study body and the Manhattan Beach Middle School student body, both competed in what we like the call, “The Scholar Quiz.”
Teams of 4 compete in different rounds of Lightning Rounds and Bonus Rounds. During the bonus rounds, you can score up to 20 points. Scholar Quiz’s premise is the same as that of the popular game ‘Jeopardy’. Each team includes four students. The the game consists of two teams of four students each, a Reader, Judge, and a Scorer.
Other schools put on their own Scholar Quiz as well. The idea started at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach. Mr. Cooper, former PV High Econ teacher and Football coach, and Barton, PV High teacher, took the idea from Costa. Both teachers attended and taught at Mira Costa High School. Cooper approached Barton, and PV High’s Scholar Quiz began in 2005.
There are three types of questions asked in the Scholar Quiz- Toss Up, Bonus, and Lightning Round questions. A toss up question is one that either team can answer. The first team raising a placard is given the first opportunity to answer. If they answer incorrectly, the second team has a chance to answer the same question. A toss up question may lead to a Bonus Round. The Bonus Round includes a specific topic with four questions. This round is where teammates work together to come up with the final answer. Only the team that wins the Toss Up can benefit from the Bonus Round. A Lightning Round question is one where ten questions are given in quick succession to the teams, with each team being allowed to answer only once. If a team answers a Lightning Round question incorrectly, they are penalized with a loss of points.
Pictured below are the winners from the MCHS Scholar Quiz
Pictured below are the winners from the MBMS Scholar Quiz
